First look: New body styles on WalthersMainline HO scale Budd passenger cars

Model Railroader magazine recently received pre-production photos of the next three passenger cars in the WalthersMainline HO scale Budd 85-foot passenger car series. The new body styles are a small-window coach, baggage-Railway Post Office, and observation car. The small window coach is based on a Southern Pacific prototype. The baggage/RPO and observation car are based on New York Central prototypes. The cars are scheduled for release in February 2016 and will retail for $34.98 each.

The newly tooled cars, like those in the previous run, are designed to operate on 18” radius curves and will feature tinted window glazing, detailed interiors, 36” turned-metal wheelsets, and Proto-Max couplers.

The cars can be upgraded with the WalthersMainline passenger car exterior detail kit (formed stainless steel grab irons and body-mounted coupler boxes with standard length swinging drawbar, bushing, and cover for operation on 22” radius and larger curves, $9.98) and the WalthersMainline passenger car LED interior lighting kit (light-emitting diode light bar; metal 41-N-11 trucks with turned-metal 36” wheels; and body-mounted coupler boxes with extended swinging drawbar, bushing, and cover, $29.98). 

The small-window coach will be decorated for Alaska RR (ARR); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF); Amtrak (AMTK); Southern Pacific (SP); Union Pacific (UP); and VIA Rail Canada. The baggage-RPO will be lettered for ATSF; Canadian National (CN); Canadian Pacific (CP); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q); New York Central (NYC); Pennsylvania RR (PRR); SP; Southern Ry. (SOU); UP; and VIA. The observation car will be painted for AMTK, ARR, ATSF, CB&Q, CN, CP, NYC, PRR, SOU, SP, UP, and VIA. All three body styles will also be offered painted silver but unlettered.

For more information, visit www.walthers.com.